Head for toothbrushes



Patented Nov. 7, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEAD FOR TOOTHBRUSHES Adolph Rickenbaclier, L Angeles, Calif.

Application October 19, 1942, Serial No. 462,483

5 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to a brush, and more particularly to a tooth brush, and it is specifically concerned with improvements in the brush head of such an article.

The present invention has to do with that type of tooth brush in which the brush head is in the form of a unit carried by a handle so that it can be arranged in various positions relative to the handle enabling the user to most advantageously reach various parts of the mouth. Further, the head is detachable from the handle to facilitate cleaning or replacement.

A'successful form of this type of brush is one in which the body of the brush head is cast of a suitable plastic and has a metal mounting member applied thereto to present a stud or projection to receive a suitable gripping element or handle. It has been common practice to form the plastic brush head bcdy'of such devices with cavities in its lower face to receive the bristles,

of the brush and to provide the side edges of the body with undercuts or depressions which receive legs provided on the metal mounting member to facilitate coupling the mounting member with the plastic body.

The undercuts commonly employed in a brush body of the type mentioned materially complicate the molding of the body and it has been a characteristic of such constructions that the metal mounting part has portions projecting from the sides of the brush body so that they readily contact the mouth or teeth of the user. Molds for forming bodies with undercuts involve shiftable parts requiring manipulation that materially slows up production.

It is an object of-this invention to provide a brush head construction of thegeneral character mentioned in [which the metal mounting part is applied to the plastic body by means of side legs but without requiring undercuts in the body such as complicate its formation. 7

It is another object of this invention to provide a brush head construction of the character referred to in which the legs of the metal mounting part are confined within the planes of the sides of the body so that they do not project to endanger the user.

It is another object of this invention to provide an extremely simple, eflective and inexpensive brush body and metal mounting member com bination in which these parts are permanently, firmly, and durably coupled.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plastic brush head for a brush of the character referred to, which can be formed entirely in a simple mold, thus makin it extremely simple, inexpensive and rapid of production.

The various objects and features of the invention will be best and more fully understood from the' following detailed description of a typical form and application of the invention throughout which description reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a complete brush embodying the head provided by this invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the brush head unit comprising the body and metal mounting part showing these elements assembled. Fig. 3 is a detailed transverse sectional view of the part shown in Fig. 2 being a view taken as indicated by line 33 on Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the plastic brush body showing it alone, being a View of the body taken the same as in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detailed transverse sectional View of the plastic brush head body alone, being a sectional view taken as indicated by line 55 on Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of the plastic brush head bodyv being a view taken as indicated by line 6- 6 on Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the metal mounting member showing it alone or apart from the plastic brush head and with its legs in the originally formed position, that is prior to being formed to fit the brush head, and Fig. 8 is a plan view of the metal mounting part, being a view taken as indicated by line 88 on Fig. '7.

The complete brush illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing includes, generally, the brush head A and the handle B. The brush head includes, generally, the plastic body Iii, the tufts ll of bristles carried by the body, and the metal mounting member l2 applied to the body presenting a part forconnection with the handle B.

The handle B includes, generally, the handle part proper l3 and a gripping element M of any suitable design operable to engage and grip the part presented by the member 52 of the brush head provided for that purpose. My present invention is not concerned with the details of the handle or of the gripping member M of the handle. For the purpose of the present invention any suitable clamp or gripping device may be employed in the handle B so long as it is such as to grip and hold the projection formed on the member l2, as hereinafter described.

The plastic body ll} of the brush head A is a substantially rectangular block-like element having a flat top l5, a flat bottom It, parallel sides Hand parallel ends it. The various corners of the body may be rounded or finished to eliminate sharp edges. In accordance with the invention the body I is a molded part and has brush cavities 20 molded in it from its lower face or bottom I6. The brush cavities 20 may vary in number and may be arranged in any desired manner. In the case illustrated I have shown a single row of brush cavities in the bottom of the body. These cavities are preferably shaped and proportioned to tightly receive the bundles or tufts of bristles in the manner common to brushe of this general character.

In accordance with the present invention instead of providing the sides of the brush body I0 with cavities or undercuts requiring complicated molding operations, I provide channels in the opposite sides I! of the body III which channels are oppositely disposed and extend vertically between the top l and bottom I6 of the body. The channels are thus in the nature of grooves extending vertically in the sides I 'I' of the body NJ as distinguished from being cavities or undercuts. In accordance with the preferred form of the invention the channels in the sides of the body vary in depth between the top and the bottom of the body, there being a shallow channel part 2| extending downwardly from the top I5 of the body and a deep channel part 22 extending upwardly from the bottom 16 ofthe body. These channel parts 2| and 22 may be substantially uniform in depth throughout their vertical extent to form a downwardly facing shoulder 23 in the channel at the point Where they join. In practice it is desired to proportion the parts so that the shoulder 23 is formed as close as practical to the top I5 of the body. It is to be understood of course that the channel parts 2| and 22 may be provided with a slight draft to facilitate drawing from the molds it being notable that the channel parts 2| and 22 are parallel with the bristle cavities 20 so that a single drawing operation of the body from the mold leaves both the channels and the bristle cavities.

The metal mounting part I2 provided by my invention is designed to be permanently and securely joined with the body If! hereinabove described. The mounting part I2 includes, generally, a plate 30 engaging or fitting the top 15 of the body l0, a projection or stud 3! projecting upwardly from the plate to receive the gripping member I4 of the handle B and depending legs 32 at the side edges of the plate designed to fit and cooperate with the channels to join the mounting member and the body. In the form of the invention illustrated the mounting member I2 is a single integral metal part or stamping having the projection 3| and legs 32 formed integrally with the plate 30. In practice the plate 30 may be of any suitable size or may be proportioned in any desired manner with relation to the top I5 of the body It and the projection 3! may be shaped and proportioned to properly cooperate with any particular gripping member It provided on the handle B. In accordance with my invention the legs 32 of the mounting member correspond in size and shape to the upper channel parts 2| in the body I!) and are designed to completely fill or occupy these channel parts, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing. The invention provides an inwardly turned lip 34 at the lower end or extremity of each leg 32 designed to project into the deeper channel part 22 and engage under the downwardly facing shoulder 23 formed in the channel. The lips 34 are preferably proportioned or located to engage under the shoulders 23 to prevent displacement of the mounting part [2 from the body l0 and at the same time draw or hold the metal mounting part l2 in tight or bearing engagement with the plastic body I0.

In practice the mounting part I2 is initially formed so that the legs 32 are slightly spread or divergent as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. To apply the mounting part I2 to the bod ID the body H) is arranged between the diverging legs, whereupon the legs are bent or distorted inwardly so that they fit and grip the body part as shown in Figs, 2 and 3 of the drawing. It is to be noted that when the legs 32 are properly engaged in the channels in the sides of the brush body It the outer surfaces 36 of the legs are flush with the sides I! of the body I!) so the finished structure has no metal part projecting beyond the sides of the plastic body. It is further to be noted that the legs 34 are made sufficiently wide to completely occupy the upper channel parts 2|, thus leaving no small cavities or crevices in which foreign matter may accumulate. It is true that the lower channel parts 22 are not occupied by portions of the legs 32 except immediately adjacent the shoulders 23. However, it is to be noted that these lower channel parts are fairly large and wide open so that they will not readily accumulate foreign matter.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art or fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A brush head of the character described including a molded body having cavities in its bottom to receive bristles and channels in the sides confined to points intermediate its ends and extending parallel with the cavities, the channels extending from the top of the body to the bottom of the body and being greater in depth at the bottom of the body than at the top of the body, and a mounting member applied to the top of the body and having legs engaged in the channels to secure the member on the body.

2. A brush head of the character described including a molded body having cavities in its bottom to receive bristles and channels in its sides confined to points intermediate its ends and extending parallel with the cavities from the top of the body to the bottom of the body, and a mounting member applied 'to the top of the bod and having legs engaged in the channels to secure the member on the body, the channels having shoulders intermediate their ends faced toward the bottom of the body and the legs terminating short of the lower ends of the channels and having inwardly projecting parts engaging under said shoulders.

3. A brush head of the character described including a molded body having cavities in its bottom to receive bristles and channels in its sides confined to points intermediate its ends and extending parallel with. the cavities and extending from the top to the bottom of the body.

and a mounting member applied to the top of the body and having legs engaged in and con fined to the channels to secure the member on the body, the channels having shoulders faced toward the bottom of the body and the legs being turned inwardly at their lower ends to engage under the shoulders;

4. A brush head of the character described including a molded body having cavities in its bottom to receive bristles and channels in its sides confined to points intermediate its ends and extending parallel with the cavities and extending from the top to the bottom of the body, and a mounting member applied to the top 01 the body and having legs engaged in the channels to secure the member on the body, the legs being received in and confined to the channels so that all parts of the mounting member are within the planes of the sides of the body.

5. A brush head of the character described including a molded body having cavities in its bottom to receive bristles and channels opposite each other in its sides and extending parallel to the cavities and between the top and bottom of the body, the lower portion of each channel being deeper than the upper portion so a downwardly facing shoulder is formed in the channel, and a mounting member applied to the top of the body and having depending legs which completely occupy the upper portions of the channels, the lower ends of the legs being turned inwardly to engage under the shoulders.

ADOLPH RICKENBACHER. 

